Tether has increased its supply substantially. There are more rumors than normal circulating around about Bitfinex and Tether issues. If this leads to another Mt Gox situation it would be painful for the entire community. I have used Tether before in small doses and in short time windows on Bittrex during periods of large volatility. That doesn't mean it is safe though.

I used USDT for awhile on Bittrex to increase my Bitcoin position in times of volatility. (Sell it high, buy it back low, sell it high, etc.) I did this, but was uneasy, due to the reports (which I initially considered FUD) that Tether might not have the matching dollars and transparency was lacking. Since I stopped using Tether, these stories have increased. With the latest report that the new Tethers issued seem to be beyond the dollars they could possibly have raised to back them, I can't say I am convinced of trickery or looming problems but I'm glad I am out. I would not recommend USDT.

It's my 2nd biggest crypto worry after bitconnect. One of these days both are going to crumble....I'm just hopeful it's years from now and after crypto is firmly established in our world. Otherwise, you are correct, it's going to be painful.

Silversaving wrote:It's my 2nd biggest crypto worry after bitconnect. One of these days both are going to crumble....I'm just hopeful it's years from now and after crypto is firmly established in our world. Otherwise, you are correct, it's going to be painful.

I thought Bitconnect was an open secret scam (ponzi). Even Vitalik called it a scam.

Tether's partnership with one of the world's largest crypto exchanges has become a concern. People have reported problems withdrawing their funds from Bitfinex, resulting in cries referring to a certain infamous mountain in crypto history.

Caveat: A few unsubstantiated posts on Twitter or Reddit can be enough to generate an alarmist article in CoinTelegraph. Their contributing writers can be quick on the trigger and they don't always clean up their mess when the article is proved wrong. However, the concern over Bitfinex/Tether is real, and whether the problem is real or perceived, it can have a significant effect on the market if it gains momentum.

In the second half of 2016, Bitfinex increased the Tether (USDT) supply from a few million to approximately $10 million. In January 2017, the USDT supply increased from $10 million to $25 million. In March, supply went from $25 million to $55 million. When they lost their banking in April, USDT supply was $65 million, and now 7 months later, USDT is ten times that supply: $675 million. There is no fire yet, but there sure is a lot of smoke building.

Didn't the whole Mt. Gox collapse start with a claim they'd been hacked and there was a theft?

By the way, Mark Karpeles stands to make close to $1 billion on the Mt. Gox bankruptcy, thanks to the fact that Bitcoin has mooned since then and HE is the main creditor. Plus whatever Bitcoin he was able to squirrel away in secret. Who says crime doesn't pay?

Long John wrote:Didn't the whole Mt. Gox collapse start with a claim they'd been hacked and there was a theft?

By the way, Mark Karpeles stands to make close to $1 billion on the Mt. Gox bankruptcy, thanks to the fact that Bitcoin has mooned since then and HE is the main creditor. Plus whatever Bitcoin he was able to squirrel away in secret. Who says crime doesn't pay?

Here is the most recent response from Bitfinex regarding the allegations surrounding Tether. They had a chance to answer allegations, and instead they attacked Bitfinex'ed twitter guy for being anonymous. Kinda sad. They also said that they "will be releasing an audit soon" - fail.

I hope if/when this does blow up, it only takes about $50 billion out of the overall market cap.

The other exchanges would absorb Bitfinex's clientele, those who don't drop out altogether. It's different now than when Mt. Gox happened, but no doubt it would still be very unpleasant for a time. $50 billion? The market (briefly) lost $68 billion in one day only last week, but that was just whales (and even little fishies) cashing in profits. $50B would be a small price to pay, though it might take weeks or months to recover from such a blow to the market's integrity.

I don't know what to say to the above. Is the 50 mill being used or just sucked right back out? How do you add it with out taking payment ? To buy usdt you have to give something in return. So how does this work they just put 50 bil tokens on the exchange?

Imagine if you sell your Bitcoin into Tether to lock in value, but in reality each $1 token represents only $0.20 of actual money. (I made that number up as an example.) As long as only a certain percentage of Tether holders buy back their Bitcoin at one time, the shortage of backing money won't be found out. But when a tipping point is reached... If that sounds like Bernie Madoff, well, that is the concern.

Unproven, and they deny it, but the flood of new Tether tokens this year has fueled the growing skepticism.